


E.D.I.T.H.

by celtic7irish



Series: Tony Stark Bingo 2019 [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: EDITH - Freeform, Gen, Ghost Tony, Not A Fix-It, Post-Endgame, Snarky Tony, Still a hero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-05 00:08:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20479712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celtic7irish/pseuds/celtic7irish
Summary: “Dammit, Tony,” Rhodey muttered, “what the hell were you thinking?”“I was thinking that I shouldn’t have listened to the wizard,” Tony spoke up from where he was walking next to Rhodey, his footsteps eerily silent.  “There’s always another option.  I just didn’t have time to find it.”





	E.D.I.T.H.

**Author's Note:**

> For Tony Stark Bingo Square S3: Afterlife/Ascension

E.D.I.T.H.

Rhodey was wandering aimlessly through the Avengers Compound, his feet steps carving a familiar path while his mind was far away. Or perhaps not so far. The final battle against Thanos had been only three months ago, though it seemed both shorter and longer. Despite the losses suffered, life continued on, as it had following Thanos’ original snap that had wiped out half the population of the universe. And for the most part, that was good. The losses the second time around had been mostly on Thanos’ side.

Mostly.

“Dammit, Tony,” Rhodey muttered, “what the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I shouldn’t have listened to the wizard,” Tony spoke up from where he was walking next to Rhodey, his footsteps eerily silent. “There’s always another option. I just didn’t have time to find it.”

Rhodey frowned, glancing over at his semi-transparent best friend. He was pretty sure he was hallucinating things, because nobody else seemed to be able to see Tony, but it was comforting in a way, and he was reluctant to dismiss the visual and auditory hallucinations so casually. Tony’s loss still burned with a sharp, fiery ache that Rhodey wasn’t sure would ever really go away. Every time he saw Pepper, or little Morgan, he was reminded all over again that his loss wasn’t even the greatest. Whether the world knew it or not, Tony Stark had saved them all. And had asked for nothing in return, save that his wife and child and friends were kept safe.

Rhodey would watch over Pepper and Morgan for the rest of his life. Happy was keeping an eye on that kid that Tony had chosen to be his successor. Peter. Rhodey shook his head. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, indeed.

“You’re making that face again,” Tony observed neutrally. Rhodey looked at him, and Tony grinned. “Yeah, that one. The one that says you think I’m crazy. I don’t see how that’s different than normal, though,” he added helpfully.

“How do you know I’m not just thinking that I’m the crazy one?” Rhodey wondered, aware that speaking out loud to oneself was not usually a good thing. But he’d hung around Tony way too much to believe that. The genius talked to himself and the bots and the Iron Man armor almost constantly, a stream of consciousness that cared little for who was around to witness it. 

“You’re not crazy,” Tony told him solemnly, no trace of his earlier teasing in his expression. “I don’t know that’s going on, either. You know damn well that I don’t believe in ghosts. And yet…” he trailed off, gesturing at himself in disbelief. Rhodey gave his friend a wry smile as he turned the corner, heading for the specialized training room that Tony had built just for him after the accident. He didn’t really need the room anymore, with its extra padding and helper bots for when he inevitably fell, but he was pretty much guaranteed privacy there.

Too busy ruminating over the fact that his best friend was haunting him - or else he really was crazy and just hadn’t realized it yet - Rhodey didn’t notice the shadow until it spoke. “You see ‘im, too?” the Winter Soldier asked, stepping cautiously out into the hallway as Rhodey came to a stop, eyeing the two of them warily.

Rhodey pulled to an abrupt stop, staring at the other man, then turned to Tony, who was blinking back at him, nonplussed. “You can see Tony?” he asked.

The Soldier hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. “Not...not real well,” he admitted, the words soft with the guilt that Rhodey knew the Soldier still felt for his role in the death of Tony’s parents. “It’s kinda...blurry? Next to you. I didn’t realize what it was until I heard you talkin’ to ‘im.”

“Huh,” Tony commented idly, “would you look at that? Looks like you’re not completely insane, after all.” His voice was light, but Rhodey could hear the strained undertones, and Barnes flinched back. Apparently, even if he couldn’t see Tony clearly, he could hear him just fine.

“I’ll just go,” the Soldier murmured, ducking his head and not looking at them as he hurried past, his shoulders hunched.

Rhodey watched him retreat down another hallway before giving a quiet sigh and resuming his journey. “What?” Tony demanded irritably after a moment. “I didn’t even say anything!”

“You didn’t have to,” Rhodey pointed out softly, placing his palm on the blank section of wall where the scanner was. A brief flash of light and a quiet beep, and a section of the wall split and slid to either side, revealing what Rhodey fondly referred to as the Anti-Rhodey Chamber, or Arc. “He’s trying, you know.”

Tony’s ethereal form gave a sigh. “I know,” he admitted grudgingly. “It’s kind of hard not to notice that he’s been sticking with the new guy, Wilson, after Rogers went back in time and lived out his life with Peggy. Sucks.” And it did suck, for Bucky to have been left behind, again. Was there another Bucky in that other timeline? One that hadn’t fallen from the train? Or one that Steve had saved sooner? Or that had never been captured by Hydra in the first place?

“Then maybe you should give the guy a fair chance,” Rhodey said, standing at the starting line. Since he was here, he might as well take advantage of it. “Friday, Level 3, please,” he requested.

“Of course, Colonel,” the AI said warmly. There was a brief moment of hesitation, and Rhodey took a moment to appreciate just how human Tony’s creation seemed. “Might I ask, is Boss with you?”

Rhodey gave the room a rueful smile. “I’m not really sure,” he admitted. “I mean, I can see him, but it could just be an illusion.”

“But Sergeant Barnes saw him, too, right?” Friday asked petulantly, obviously annoyed that the man who had killed her boss’s parents could see him while she could not. “My cameras are not equipped to sense ‘ghosts’.” Rhodey chuckled at the outright disgust in her voice processors. Friday was definitely Tony’s child.

“True,” he admitted, eyeing the scowling ghost of his best friend. “I wonder why that is? I know for a fact that neither Pepper nor Happy saw him.” Rhodey had been around both of them, as well as little Morgan, grieving for their loss. In fact, Barnes was the first person to have even realized anything was off, though it still didn’t make any sense. If Rhodey wasn’t hallucinating, and wasn’t the only one who could see Tony, then could others maybe see him as well? Rhodey had only started seeing him recently, after all.

He wondered how they’d test it. Just wander around and see if anybody gave him a second look? Or maybe start with the people closest to Tony. Pepper and Happy and Peter. Maybe Bruce. Not Morgan. Not yet. Rhodey wasn’t sure how he’d explain that her daddy was a ghost and not really alive if she could see him, and it would break both their hearts if he tried, whether or not she could see him..

“I don’t know what he’s complaining about, anyhow,” Tony started indignantly as the bell chimed softly, indicating the start of the obstacle course. Rhodey started off at a light jog, waiting for the first of the hurdles to pop up. He’d tripped over the damn things enough times. “I helped make his new arm, didn’t I?”

Rhodey stumbled in surprise, just in time for the first hurdle to pop up out of the floor. “Dammit!” he swore, reaching out and letting his hands break his fall, holding himself upright on the hurdle he was supposed to jump, and glared at Tony.

“What?” Tony demanded, then rolled his eyes. “You’re fine.”

“What do you mean, you helped make Barnes’ new arm?” Rhodey demanded as he turned around and jogged lightly back to the beginning. He never skipped an obstacle, preferring to reset every time he failed. It had been hard, in the beginning, being unable to complete even the first level before he was completely exhausted and trembling. But his perseverance, and Tony’s encouragement (even if it came in the form of constant needling in a paltry attempt to hide his friend’s anguish) had resulted in him getting back out into the field. Which meant that he had been there in the fight against Thanos, instead of trapped in a goddamn wheelchair or something. And even if he couldn’t save Tony, he had to believe that his being there had made a difference to someone, somewhere. He had to.

“What does it sound like I meant?” Tony asked irritably. “Princess Shuri contacted me, and I helped. Helen did, too.” He gestured dismissively. “Helen and I both told Shuri to not tell him, because Rogers needed him back, and he probably would’ve refused it if he’d known I had any hand in it. I don’t know what Helen’s excuse was.”

Rhodey wasn’t paying attention to Tony’s words now, considering the new information, even as his fingers stroked idly along the braces on his legs. Braces that Tony had made, and which worked remarkably similar to earlier iterations of the Iron Man armor, the ones that had come when Tony called them. Neurotransmitters. Surely Barnes’ arm worked similarly?

The bell chimed again, and Rhodey took off, Tony following him at a leisurely pace around the room, though he never seemed to fall behind or get ahead, just stayed by Rhodey’s side as he jumped the hurdles and pitfalls, or scaled the walls, or balanced on a thin beam. Speed, dexterity, strength, and ingenuity (some of the traps would move, or change, forcing Rhodey to never fall into a set routine), all things that Rhodey had worked so hard for in the air force. They didn’t come as naturally anymore, but he still had it, and in the end, he supposed, that was really all that mattered.

When he finished the course, he bent over double, hands on his knees, catching his breath while Tony chattered on, frustrated by his inability to talk to Friday or make improvements. Rhodey held up a single finger, pausing Tony’s rant. “Tony,” he said softly, clearly, “when I fell out of the sky, I thought I’d die. When I woke up in the hospital, I thought I’d never walk again. When I started walking, I thought for damn sure I’d never fly War Machine again.” He stood up, straight and steady as he looked over at his best friend with pride.

“But you know what? I can do all that. And more besides. Because of you. Because you just never quit. Even now, when you should be dead, should be enjoying your time in the afterlife or Heaven or Valhalla, whatever, you’re still here, still watching over everyone. Just because I’m the only one that can see you doesn’t mean that I haven’t noticed.” 

“Yeah, well,” Tony groused, arms crossed over his chest, “I didn’t exactly expect that I’d be sticking around as a ghost. I mean, come on! Where is a damn wizard when you need one?” he added petulantly. Rhodey snickered, and Tony pouted at him, the expression so familiar on his face that it sent a sharp ache through Rhodey.

“I’ll put the word out,” Rhodey told him wryly. “I’m sure Doctor Strange will get back to me when he feels like it.” The Sorcerer Supreme tended to only show up when something interesting was going on, or when he had nothing better to be doing. Was he useful? Yes. Was he particularly reliable? Absolutely not. But the Avengers had seen too many weird things to so easily discount things like wizards, radioactive teenagers, and shapeshifting aliens. They were a rather diverse group these days, he supposed.

As Rhodey headed for the door, the lights in the Compound flickered before the call to Assemble alert went off. Tony’s ghostly form dissipated, and Rhodey spared just a second to mourn the loss, and then he was off, hurrying back along the hallways towards the briefing room, mentally running through the list of Avengers currently at the Compound. Friday would already be running an analysis on which team members would be most suitable for the current situation, but everyone who was present in the Compound would show anyhow, just in case they’d be needed.

Halfway there, he came across Sam Wilson, who had taken on the mantle of Captain America. Steve was still around, but he was retired now, content to let the next generation of Avengers take over saving the world.

“Colonel,” Sam greeted with a smile.

“Captain,” Rhodey answered with a smile of his own. He liked Sam, and didn’t really hold it against him that he’d gone with Cap when things had gone to shit. Sam had a level head, and a background working with vets, so he had undoubtedly been the voice of reason among the rogues.

Sam rolled his eyes. “I still don’t know what he expects me to do with this,” he grumbled, hefting the shield on his arm. “It throws my balance off when I fly.”

“Give the shield to Barnes then,” Tony spoke up, reappearing next to Rhodey as if he’d never gone anywhere at all.

Sam yelped and stumbled back, the shield forgotten as he stared at Tony’s ghost form. “Stark?” he asked, eyes wide. He flicked his gaze to Rhodey, who quickly shook off his own surprise. 

“Your wings were made by Tony, right?” he asked. Sam just nodded, straightening up and following Rhodey’s lead back down the hallway. They still had a job to do. “Looks like I might be right, after all, then.”

“Right about what, platypus?” Tony asked, hovering over Rhodey’s shoulder.

“I think that anybody who has something made by you can see you,” Rhodey admitted. “I didn’t know about Barnes’ arm until you said something. But Sam’s got your wings. I’ve got these,” he said, tapping the braces on his legs, “and the War Machine armor.” He considered that. Of all of the Avengers currently on base, they were probably the only three who could see Tony’s form, if his suspicions were correct.

Sam narrowed his eyes at them. “You helped make Barnes’ new arm?” he asked, directing the question to Tony, who nodded. Sam considered that. “That might explain why the Princess seemed devastated,” he commented. “I hadn’t realized you two knew each other.”

“Yeah, Princess Shuri is brilliant,” Tony agreed. “She’s gonna go places. I’m hoping she’ll come to New York and meet with Parker,” he added softly. “I gave the kid EDITH, but it’s going to be up to him now, and that kid could use all the help he can get.”

“EDITH?” Sam mouthed at Rhodey, his eyebrows raised. Rhodey just shrugged; he still didn’t understand Tony’s naming sense, other than that they were usually an acronym for something else. He was pretty sure that Tony picked the name first, and then made up an acronym to match.

As the doors to the meeting room swung open, revealing nearly a dozen different team members, Tony smirked, watching as chaos erupted between those who could see him and those who couldn’t.

“Even Dead, I’m the Hero,” he smirked.

Rhodey just shook his head and called the room to order so they could get a sitrep from Friday, carefully not watching his friend as Tony stood by his side. Leave it to Tony to find a way to create chaos even after he’d died.

It looked like somebody - probably AIM, if Rhodey had to guess - had somehow managed to lose a bunch of mutated mosquitoes that were terrorizing New York City. Which meant they’d need fliers.

As Rhodey stepped into the War Machine armor, feeling the comforting weight of it closing around him, he looked at his best friend. “Ready to fly?” he asked.

Tony’s ghostly formed grinned. “Always,” he agreed.

As Rhodey took off into the air, Tony’s ghost faded out, but Rhodey could still feel him, his love and attention and genius all wrapped into the circuits of the War Machine armor, protecting him even after death.

Guys like Tony, he supposed, lived forever. And really? He was cool with that. Because Tony was right.

Even dead, he was a hero.


End file.
